I've "borrowed" this title from an article on TeleRead in which Joanna tells the story of how her parents are behaving with their Kobo e-readers.Joanna's father "seems content to download one or two books at a time and read them in full before heading back to Manybooks.net for more obscure boyhood favourites"
Her mother on the other hand loves to collect e-books in a way that reminds you of the squirrel collecting nuts in case winter strikes. She is well on the way to becoming a hoarder.
Joanna's mother and I have a lot in common. I already have very large TBR-on-Kindle, without counting review books etc which I am now store in separate categories. Oh dear... when will I get them all read? Many were "bargains" at "once-only" prices, but not too many were free. I can see I need to give myself a severe talking to as well as practicing my speed reading.
What about you? What is your e-book style?
BTW have you done the poll in the top right corner? If you haven't yet succumbed to an e-reader, you can still take the poll.
14 comments:
I bought a bunch at the beginning but now have slowed down. I plan to keep around 20 unread books on my eReader so it is always available for emergency trips away or things like that but hope not to have another 150+ TBR pile on my eReader. We'll see :)
I haven't succumbed to e-reading, but I fear that I would be a hoarder if I did. On the other hand, I suspect that e-reading does not lend itself nearly as well to enjoyable browsing as books do, so who knows?
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
I am going to declare here that I dont have a style...
I just keep adding and I know it's the "Out of sight" syndrone that makes it happen..
I cant see them so I pack them in.. with a physical bookshelf I would have to either start giving them away or tosssing them away..
It is also sort of guilt free, I cant see them so I am not pressured to pull my socks up and start reading...
Happy week hon..
E.H>
Well, it is early days yet so how would I know?
I think, like Bernadette, that I´d like to have a few stored for a meagre month or two, but now that I have around ten books, I don´t feel I need to rush out to buy more until I really want them.
It was the same for my paper TBR. When I reached c 80 books, I lost interest in hoarding because it just grew too difficult to decide which book to pick next.
What I hoard is samples. I now make most of my To Be Read list by downloading samples to my iPad. Then when I am looking for a book to read, I go, read a chapter or two, and if I want it, I order it. If I don't, I delete it.
This doesn't keep the TBR list from gowing. I may have 60 or 80 samples on my iPad on the different apps (Nook, iPad reader, Kindle, etc.). But I haven't bought the books.
I have over 600 items on my Kindle. Among them are short stories, collections of authors, research material, comic strip collections, radio scripts, games, interactive planner calendar, magazines, blogs and even books.
I think of my Kindle as a library. Will I ever read all of them? No, but when I am in the mood to read something by Oscar Wilde or Jules Verne or Edgar Rice Burroughs I have most of their work waiting for me on my Kindle. No hours searching boxes of books or searching in the modern bookstore or local library.
Peter, I find much more joy searching the Amazon bookstore than I have in any other bookstore or library. I have been a book junkie for over 50 years. My mother was a librarian. The near unlimited stock, the "others who bought this book bought this book" scroll leading me to wonderful treasures with the ease I never experienced at a bookstore or library.
I have been a book hoarder all my life. When I was legally blind and getting painful laser treatments at a doctor I still stopped by the Barnes & Noble across the street. Print or e-book does not matter.
Joe Barone I share your passion for the Amazon sample. It has allowed me to experience many writers I might never have been able to afford to try in print.
My question is do you buy e-books differently than you buy p-books?
I've been a book hoarder all my life and I'm not the least bit ashamed of it. I happily stack my collection against other people's collections of various items, plus other things they have wasted money on. Now that I'm hoarding on Kindle, however, it's not quite so obvious.
The Amazon Kindle Store is my favorite website and I love that they have recommendations just for me. I'm also a fan of their "If you liked this, then you'll love these books." I didn't know about downloading samples. That is going to open up a whole new line of purchasing for me.
My absolute favorite part about my Kindle is the ability to enlarge the font size and reduce the number of words per line. It's so much easier for my old eyes to read. (It's only my eyes that are old - not me.) This feature has allowed me to go back to speed reading if I wish.
Michael,
No. I read one and one-half to two books a week, the same number as before. I still order hardbound books from Mystery Guild. I've ordered from them for years because I lived in small towns without bookstores and with libraries with limited mystery selections. I remain loyal to them.
The only way e-books may affect my reading is that if I come across a book not on electronic media, I put it on an Amazon or B&N wish list where it languishes maybe forever, but certainly much longer than if I have it on the iPad. I'm more likely to buy an e-book.
I like the "out of sight syndrome" EH. No groaning bookshelves to complain!
Joe, I like the idea of collecting samples - but wonder if I would ever read them.
Margot - yes the thought that other people waste their money on other things is comforting but if I multiply the cost of a book by the number of books, the level of comfort diminishes a bit. Still some people pay as much for stamps.
Bernadette - I admire your restraint. I must admit that recently I have got to the Amazon portals and then closed down. I felt very righteous!
Dorte, organising your e-books into categories seems to help
Peter - have you been tempted yet? My Kindle is a wonderful travelling companion.
Michael - your "I'm carrying a library around with me" rationale is great. I do like the idea of never being stuck for something to read
Hoarder. There is no doubt. One must have plenty of books on hand (or on Kindle as the case may be) for any emergency!!!
I suppose I'm a hoarder. At least I have quite a few 'samples' but the overall count is about 60; some of those are classics that I will get around to reading one day. Yeah,right!
Brian
Kerrie, I have not been tempted because I have heard no convincing argument that e-readers do anything for the experience of reading.
As a source for people who live far from good bookshops or comprehensive libraries, yes. As a way to make available titles that would otherwise be out of print, yes. Most intriguing, as a way for publishers to get novellas, short-story collections and other forms economically difficult in traditional format out there, yes.
But for everyday reading of generally available titles, I don't see the point. People say an e-reader is small and easy to carry. So is a book. People say, but you can store thousands of books! Who needs to?
It's harder to browse via e-reader, and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend a couple of hundred dollars on something that I can't take into the bathtub with me. So until someone comes up with a single advantage that e-readers have over books, I don't see myself buying one.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com
As I always say, I'm a Luddite, and a paperbook lover. Want books around me, piled up and on bookshelves with pottery, etc.
Want to look up from my computer and see my books on the living room bookshelves.
I carry one paperback in my bag, which is light-weight. I agree, why is an ereader such a convenience because it's easy to carry; so is a paperback.
And I like bookmarks, both in paper from Partners and Crime bookshop, and laminated.
I like the whole book life and all of the things that go with it, bookstores, libraries, sharing books, having books arrive, so I'm not changing, have no reason to do so.
I have a reasonable number of books--my own and the library is two blocks away. I like the mystery bookstore nearby and Amazon delivers quickly.
So I never have a book famine. In fact, I always have a few piles of books around.
The e-book is a format just like the hardcover, trade paper, mass market, and audio. You do not have to choose one or the other.
Peter, you and I have had this discussion before. As strong as you feel about print I feel about the e-book, but I still buy print books if a book I want is not available as an e-book. It is just a format. Whatever works best for each reader is ok.
The question of print vs e-book is as pointless as hardcover vs paperback. What is interesting is how will buying e-books change our buying habits? Will it increase book sales or will sales stay the same but be divided up into just another format? Will it change our reading habits? Neither the p-book or the e-book are going anywhere soon. It is time to stop worrying about "the book" and realize in whatever format the book will live forever.
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